NASHVILLE, Tenn. – In a game that eerily resembled the contest between the two Atlantic Sun Conference foes just 12 days ago in DeLand, Florida, the Lipscomb men’s basketball team downed Stetson 87-85 on Thursday night at Allen Arena.

This time the Bisons (11-13, 5-4 A-Sun) were able to hold on to the lead as the Hatters (8-17, 2-7 A-Sun) roared back from another double-digit, second-half deficit.

Lipscomb opened the game on fire hitting 8-of-17 beyond the arc in the first half en route to a season-best 51 points at halftime. That gave the Purple and Gold a 14-point cushion at the break and the Bisons would need it as the Hatters would outscore the Bisons 48-36 in the final 20 minutes of action.

“Turnovers were an epidemic in the second half,” said Lipscomb head coach Casey Alexander, who picked up career victory number 50 with the win. “We’ve had a lot of problems offensively and defensively but that hasn’t been one of our problems. So for us to come out and be so careless and give them a chance to come back was really frustrating.”

Lipscomb was led by senior forward Malcolm Smith, who led all players with a 29-point, 11-rebound double-double tying his career best in points. Sophomore guard Josh Williams followed just behind with a 25-point night.

“Those guys have carried us a lot, game after game,” said Alexander. “They’ve given us a lot of offensive production and tonight they did as well.”

Stetson placed five players in double figures led by Angel Rivera, who scored 15 off the bench.

“We have to play a lot better to even have a chance to win the game against Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday afternoon”, said Alexander. “I want our team to want more. I think we have a better team than what we are getting right now. It’s my job to pull that out of them but I don’t think their expectations are high enough or their standards are high enough.”

Herd notes:

With the win, the Bisons improve to 9-2 at Allen Arena this season.

Williams scored in double figures for the 26th time in the last 27 games and hit the 20-point mark for the fifth time in the last six games.

The Bisons used their 13th different starting lineup of the season on Thursday night.

Freshman guard Nathan Moran returned to the lineup for the first time in six games. The Bisons were 1-4 with Moran on the sidelines.

Smith’s double-double was the eighth of his career and second of the season.

The Hatters shot 60.7 percent in the second half hitting 17-of-28 from the field to give them a 52.8-45.9 percent edge overall in shooting. The Bisons held the edge from deep however shooting 52 percent ahead of Stetson’s 47.6 percent.

The Bisons won the free-throw battle hitting 72 percent from the charity stripe compared to only 57.6 percent for Stetson.

Lipscomb turned the ball over 21 times, the second most this season, leading to 26 points for the Hatters. The Bisons were able to turn 20 Stetson turnovers into 21 points on the opposite end of the floor.

Up next: The Bisons continue home action on Saturday hosting A-Sun leader FGCU at 4 p.m. at Allen Arena. To purchase tickets visit http://www.LipscombTickets.com The contest will air live on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app.